It is portentous, and a thing of state
That here at midnight, in our little town
A mourning figure walks, and will not rest,
Near the old court-house pacing up and down,
Or by his homestead, or in shadowed yards
He lingers where his children used to play,
Or through the market, on the well-worn stones
He stalks until the dawn-stars burn away.
A bronzed, lank man! His suit of ancient black,
A famous high top-hat and plain worn shawl
Make him the quaint great figure that men love,
The prairie-lawyer, master of us all.
He cannot sleep upon his hillside now.
He is among us:—as in times before!
And we who toss and lie awake for long,
Breathe deep, and start, to see him pass the door.
His head is bowed. He thinks of men and kings.
Yea, when the sick world cries, how can he sleep?
Too many peasants fight, they know not why;
Too many homesteads in black terror weep.
The sins of all the war-lords burn his heart.
He sees the dreadnaughts scouring every main.
He carries on his shawl-wrapped shoulders now
The bitterness, the folly and the pain.
He cannot rest until a spirit-dawn
Shall come;—the shining hope of Europe free:
A league of sober folk, the Workers' Earth,
Bringing long peace to Cornland, Alp and Sea.
It breaks his heart that things must murder still,
That all his hours of travail here for men
Seem yet in vain. And who will bring white peace
That he may sleep upon his hill again?
Analysis
This poem was written in 1914 which is when World War 1 had just started which probably has to do with the fact that Vachel mentions murder throughout the poem. Vachel Lindsay grew up in Illinois which probably influenced his choice of Abraham Lincoln.
The poem has eight stanzas which are all about the same length. Their is an A, B, C, B rhyme scheme that appears in each stanza.
I think that what Vachel Lindsay was thinking about how terrible World War 1 was, and he wondered what Abraham Lincoln would think of it. In the first two stanzas, he describes a mourning figure walking through a little town. This describes an upset Abraham Lincoln walking through Springfield. In the third stanza, Vachel describes Abraham as a figure that men love. In the fourth stanza, I like how the poet says that Abe is among us as he was before and that those who lay awake see him pass the door. To me, this means that those who would stay up all night stressing about World War 1 share a thought with Lincoln. The next two stanzas say that Abe can't sleep with everyone fighting and how the sins of the fighting people break his heart. The poem then says that Abraham Lincoln will not rest until peace goes through all of Europe. This poem ends by saying that Abraham Lincoln is heart broken that people still engage in war. It also says that his good deeds should not be in vein and that he will not rest until there is peace within the people.
I like this poem because the poet takes a popular person in history and tries to make the reader think about what Abe's feelings of World War 1 would have been. It is interesting to think about what Abraham Lincoln would think about World War 1 because of how much he helped the thought of all men being created equal and how ridiculous the reason for Germany's fighting was.
It is portentous, and a thing of state
That here at midnight, in our little town
A mourning figure walks, and will not rest,
Near the old court-house pacing up and down,
Or by his homestead, or in shadowed yards
He lingers where his children used to play,
Or through the market, on the well-worn stones
He stalks until the dawn-stars burn away.
A bronzed, lank man! His suit of ancient black,
A famous high top-hat and plain worn shawl
Make him the quaint great figure that men love,
The prairie-lawyer, master of us all.
He cannot sleep upon his hillside now.
He is among us:—as in times before!
And we who toss and lie awake for long,
Breathe deep, and start, to see him pass the door.
His head is bowed. He thinks of men and kings.
Yea, when the sick world cries, how can he sleep?
Too many peasants fight, they know not why;
Too many homesteads in black terror weep.
The sins of all the war-lords burn his heart.
He sees the dreadnaughts scouring every main.
He carries on his shawl-wrapped shoulders now
The bitterness, the folly and the pain.
He cannot rest until a spirit-dawn
Shall come;—the shining hope of Europe free:
A league of sober folk, the Workers' Earth,
Bringing long peace to Cornland, Alp and Sea.
It breaks his heart that things must murder still,
That all his hours of travail here for men
Seem yet in vain. And who will bring white peace
That he may sleep upon his hill again?
Analysis
This poem was written in 1914 which is when World War 1 had just started which probably has to do with the fact that Vachel mentions murder throughout the poem. Vachel Lindsay grew up in Illinois which probably influenced his choice of Abraham Lincoln.
The poem has eight stanzas which are all about the same length. Their is an A, B, C, B rhyme scheme that appears in each stanza.
I think that what Vachel Lindsay was thinking about how terrible World War 1 was, and he wondered what Abraham Lincoln would think of it. In the first two stanzas, he describes a mourning figure walking through a little town. This describes an upset Abraham Lincoln walking through Springfield. In the third stanza, Vachel describes Abraham as a figure that men love. In the fourth stanza, I like how the poet says that Abe is among us as he was before and that those who lay awake see him pass the door. To me, this means that those who would stay up all night stressing about World War 1 share a thought with Lincoln. The next two stanzas say that Abe can't sleep with everyone fighting and how the sins of the fighting people break his heart. The poem then says that Abraham Lincoln will not rest until peace goes through all of Europe. This poem ends by saying that Abraham Lincoln is heart broken that people still engage in war. It also says that his good deeds should not be in vein and that he will not rest until there is peace within the people.
I like this poem because the poet takes a popular person in history and tries to make the reader think about what Abe's feelings of World War 1 would have been. It is interesting to think about what Abraham Lincoln would think about World War 1 because of how much he helped the thought of all men being created equal and how ridiculous the reason for Germany's fighting was.